Page 101 of The Highlander's Auctioned Hellion
He raised a hand, summoning a guard who climbed onto the back of the coach, his swords at the ready should anything befall her. For a moment, Callum didn’t move, his big hand rubbing at his chest, at a place over his heart.
Lydia could almost fool herself into thinking that it might ache as much as hers.
Callum looked down at her one final time, and she felt something break inside her.
“I hope you can allow yourself to be happy,” she said softly. Then Callum nodded to the driver, and the carriage moved off.
Lydia watched him standing beside the castle gates for several long minutes. He did not turn or move to go back inside, watching until she was out of sight.
And I will never see him again.
CHAPTER 28
Callum stoodat the end of the path outside the castle gates, watching the shape of the carriage dwindle into the distance.
He clenched his fists, his teeth grinding together as he listened to the horses’ hooves fade away.
Damn the woman.
There was no reason for Lydia to have left him. He would get the girls back, and he would bring them home. She had panicked needlessly, making everything more complicated than it needed to be.
In a matter of hours, they would be a family again.
We will be a family again.
Callum’s chest tightened as that thought took hold. But what kind of family would they be?
Throughout her time with him, Lydia had asked what it was he needed from her, and he had told her. He had always been open about their future life together, about their marriage.
And yet none of that seems to matter anymore. All I want to dae is saddle me horse and gallop after that carriage.
But he knew he couldn’t. She had left him to save the girls; if he were to bring her back now, that would all be for nothing.
And yet he knew Moira would not stand by her word. It seemed that all she wanted, even after all this time, was him.
Callum scowled, wishing that he could erase the past and start afresh. He glared at the distant hills and the long road back to London and turned, heading back up the path toward the castle.
Guards flanked him on all sides. Callum wanted to scream, to rip his léine from his shoulders. Frustration, like nothing he had ever felt, began to rise within him.
What should I dae?
He had intended to gather himself and go and get the girls the following day. He needed to plan, tothink.The fact that Lydia was gone was a good thing; it meant fewer distractions.
He could continue as before. It did not matter whether she was present in the castle when the girls returned. Callum could care for the twins for the short term and then…
“What you need from me is a nursemaid for those girls. You have made it very clear that we are not together in any real way.”
Callum swallowed, guilt rising in his heart at the memory of those words. Scratching at his chest, he turned at the gates of the castle, looking outward to his lands. He glowered at the horizon.
There was a dark shadow rising over the distant hills—a sure sign that a storm was coming.
Kristen still stood to his left, a silent presence. Her lips were pursed, her gaze fixed on the direction of the carriage. When their eyes met, she did not speak; her brow furrowed, eyes narrowing.
I dinnae have to explain meself. This was Lydia’s choice.
As he walked back through the archway, Alexander appeared at his elbow, walking beside him as they entered the main corridor.
Callum expected his man-at-arms to speak, to give some type of counsel following the events that had taken place, but he remained silent.
